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[[FILE:Xiangqi Board.svg|border|right|thumb|Xiangqi board, with pieces in their starting positions <ref>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangqi Xiangqi from Wikipedia]</ref> ]]
'''Chinese Chess''', or '''Xiangqi''' 象棋 <ref>[https://groups.google.com/d/msg/rec.games.chinese-chess/gcreEzzU3yQ/HvWOlP7yaYkJ Xiang Qi Is Not The Elephant Game] by Stephen Leary, [[Computer Chess Forums|rec.games.chinese-chess]], November 18, 1994</ref>,<br/> is a chess variant which is very popular in East Asia, especially in China and Vietnam. The Chinese Chess set includes a board and 32 pieces for two players. The board has ten horizontal lines called [[Ranks|ranks]] and nine vertical lines called [[Files|files]]. Pieces are located not in the cells but intersectional points of ranks and files - there are 90 points. In the middle of the board the central seven files are interrupted by a horizontal space called the “River”, which splits the board into two parts. <span id="Palace"></span>Each side of the board has a “Palace” a 3x3 area in the central base. The two sides are usually distinguished by colors, traditional names are red or black <ref>[[Shi-Jim Yen]], [[Jr-Chang Chen]], [[Tai-Ning Yang]], [[Shun-Chin Hsu]] ('''2004''') but now white and black. ''[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/220174553_Computer_Chinese_Chess Computer Chinese Chess]''. [[ICGA Journal#27_1|ICGA Journal, Vol. 27, No. 1]], [https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/223d/ef59c884503f18610bba314034157f55aacd.pdf pdf]</ref> but now they can be called white and black as chess. Sometimes the Xiangqi board can be considered as the representation of two countries.
Basically, the rules are similar to chess. Pieces can move and capture according to their individual ability and restriction along the lines including the “Riverbanks”. The object of the game is to [[Checkmate|checkmate]] or [[Stalemate|stalemate]] (is a win as well) the opponent King aka General. However, partly due to the freedom and power of the Rook over other pieces, and the limited freedom of the King, it is forbidden to [[Repetitions|repeat]] perpetually a direct thread (i.e. a perpetual check 長將, perpetual thread of capture 長捉, a check and then a threat of mate 一將一殺, or a combination of these).
=Pieces=
There are 7 types: King, Advisor, Elephant, Rook, Cannon, Horse, and Pawn. Typically those pieces are made from small, simple wood pieces which some symbols (new way) or Chinese characters (traditional way) written on them. Pieces As the Chinese characters, pieces on the white side may use different characters than their counterparts on the black side. They are the same pieces, but names on the White side are subtly more noble than those on the Black side <ref>[http://ancientchess.com/page/play-xiangqi.htm How to Play Xiangqi - Chinese Chess]</ref>.
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